Air-brake signal



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALLEN B. ooLLrNs, oi BURLINGTON, IOWA.

AIR-BRAKE SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 400,639, dated April 2, '1889.

Application filed December 10, 1888 Serial No. 293,221. (No model.)

equipped with the air-brake system it frequently happens that through accident, mistake, or the interference of ignorant, careless, or maliciously-disposed persons one of the cocks in the main pipe may be closed and the brakes to the rear of this point out off, and thereby taken from under the control of the engineer, and the invention therein described was intended, among other-things, to immediately notify the engineer of such cutting oif of the car. I

As described in the former application, the signahwhistles were attached directly to the cooks in the train-pipe, and there was a spring- 7 lever or trigger device connected-with the cook upon the rear end of the tender, whereby a whistle located upon the same was blown to notify the engineer of the closing of such cook. The placing of the whistles directly upon the cooks is disadvantageous,since they are lia- 'ble not to be heard in that position by the engineenbeing deadened by the noise of the wheels, &c. Furthermore, the trigger device was complicated, and therefore liable to get out of order through the rusting or breaking of some ofits parts. The present invention is intended, first, to obviate these difficulties and to simplify the construction of the signal; secondly, to furnish means for connecting the signal-pipe, as well as the main pipe, with the signal-whistle, and, thirdly, to provide a signal to be used in connection with the conductors valve to notify the conductor when such valve has been opened; and my invention consists in the features and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the signal-pipe and main air-pipe, together with their cocks and signal-whistles; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same, showing the conductors valve and whistle; Fig. 3, an end view of one of the train-pipes and signal-pipes, showing their connection with the whistle; Fig. 4, a sectional elevation on the line 00 0c of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows; Fig. 5, avertical section through the center of one of the cooks on the same plane with the main air-pipe; and Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the conductors valve and whistle shown in Fig. 1.

In the drawings, A represents the main airpipe; A, the signal-pipe; B B, cooks for closing the main air-pipe; B B, cooks for closing the signal-pipe; C C, whistles connected with the cooks in the pipes A A; D D, pipes leading from the cooks of the main train-pipe to the whistles O O; D D, pipes connecting the cooks in the signal-pipe with the pipes D D; E, the conductors valve; F, the lever for operating the same, G, the Whistle connected with the valve, and. H a pipe leading from the valve to the main train-pipe.

When my invention is to be employed, the cars, 850., should be provided with the usual main airpipe, signal pipe, reservoir, and brake-cylinders. The main pipe and signa1- pipe are attached to and coupled between-the cars in the ordinary way and connect at their forward ends with the main reservoir on the locomotive. They are provided with the usual cocks at both ends of each of the cars and tender and at the rear end of the locomotive. All of these devices are so well known as to require no further description.

The cocks situated in the signal-pipe and in the main pipe are precisely alike, and the internal construction of one of .these cocks, &c., is more particularly shown in Figs.4 and 5. It is provided with three openings, 1,1, and J, and is adapted to be turned soas to present the openings I I to either the air or signal pipe, or the opening J to theair or signal pipe, and one of the other openingsto the pipe leading to the whistle. The opening J is preferably always on that side of thegcock which is nearest to the end of the car, and the handle of the cock when in a horizontalposition (at which time the valve is closed) points in the same direction. These cocks, as is well known, are situated under the outer end of the platform at each end of the car, and from the top of each of the cocks in the main airpipe I lead off a pipe, D. This pipe runs up a suitable distance, turns and runshorizontally beneath the platform of the car, then turns again and. runs vertically upward close to the outer surface of the end of the carbody, (to which it is preferably attached,) passes up through the roof of the car, and is provided at its upper end with a whistle of suitable size.

To carry out the second object of my invention, as stated above, and to enable a single whistle to serve for both the main air and signal pipes, I connect each of the cocks in the signal-pipe with the pipe D at a convenient point above the cocks B of the main air-pipe by means of a pipe, D. This construction is particularly shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 of the drawings.

This part of my invention operates as follows: hen the train is made up ready to start, all of the cooks, except those at the rear of the last car, which are closed, are so turned as to shutoff the whistles and to allow air to pass through the pipes A A. If now it be desired to uncouple a car, the cocks at each end thereof and at those ends of the adjacent cars which are next to such car are closed, so as to close the main air and signal pipes. In doing this the openings J are turned into line with the main air and signal pipes, and one of the openings I I into line with the tubes D D, leading to the whistle. This position of the cocks is shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5. The whistles, being blown by the air passing through them from the pipes, give warning to the traiu-men that the cocks are closed. When the cars are coupled again, the cooks will of course be returned to their former position.

It will be obvious from the drawings that whether both of the cocks B B at one end of the car or either of them be closed the whistle 0, connecting with these cocks, will be blown, for if the cock B be closed the air will pass directly from the main pipe through the tube D to the whistle, or if the cock B be closed the air will pass from the signal-pipe through the pipes D and D to the whistle.

\Vhen I desire to accomplish the other part of the first object of my invention, as stated above, and to dispense with the trigger device, the pipe D (shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings) is led ofi from that cock in the main air-pipe which is situated at the rearward end of the tender, runs along horizontally forward beneath the tender, and from that point passes up through the floor of the tender close in front of the fuel-box, so as to be protected by the same, rising some two feet above the floor. At the upper end of this pipe I also place a whistle, G. The pipe D is of course to be con nected with the cock on the signal-pipe at the rear end of the tender in the manner above described when describing the device as applied to the cars. In fact, the only differences between the device as applied to the tender and as applied to the cars are that in the latter case the whistle is situated above the roof of the car and in the former about two feetabove the floor of the tender, and that the length of the pipe D must be varied to suit the location of the whistle. I therefore consider Figs. 1 and 2 as furnishing a sufficient illustration of the device as applied to the tender.

When the tender is to be uncoupled from the car next it and the cooks or either of them on the rear end of the tender are closed, the air will pass from the pipe or pipes thus closed through the pipe D and blow the whistleC in e the tender, thus warning the engineer.

The third object of my invention, as stated above, is to provide a signal to be used in connection with the conduetors valve to notify the conductor when such valve has been opened. These valves, as is well known, are connected directly with the main train-pipe and are intended to be used by the conductor to apply the brakes when necessary. One of these valves is located in the water-closet in each passenger-car of the train, and its con struction and operation are Well known and will be clearly understood from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings. I connect with these valves, as shown inthe drawings, a whistle, G, of suitable size. When the valve is opened, the air will pass out through the opening L and also through the whistle G, notifying the conductor that the valve has been opened. In like manner when any careless or maliciously-disposed person turns the handle of one of the cocks, thus cutting the connection of the pipes, 01' opens one of the conductors valves, the whistle on the cook or valve will be blown,thus notifying the trainmen of the fact that the apparatus has been tampered with.

I claim- 1. In an air-brake signal, the combination of the main air-pipe running lengthwise of the train beneath the cars, cooks for closing such pipe, and whistles located above the roof of the car connected to the cooks by means of tubes and adapted to be blown whenever the cocks are turned to close the main air-pipe, substantially as described.

2. In an air-brake signal, the combination of the signal-pipe and main train-pipe extending lengthwise of the train, cooks for closing such pipes, tubes running from the cocks in the main air-pipe through the car-roof and connected with the cooks in the signal-pipe, and whistles located at the upper end of such tubes and adapted to be blown when the cocks are turned to close the pipes or either of them, substantially as described.

3. In an air-brake signal, the combination of the main air-pipe running lengthwise of the train beneath the cars, cocks for closing the same,a branch pipe leading from one of said cocks up into the tender and provided with a whistle at its upper end and'adapted to be blown when the cock is closed, substantially as described.

4, In an air-brake signal, the combination of the main air-pipe running lengthwise of the train beneath the cars, valves situated inside the cars and connected with the main air-pipe, and whistles attached to the valves and adapted to be blown when the Valves are [0 opened, substantially as described.

ALLEN B. COLLINS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE S. PAYSON, EPHRAIM BANNING. 

